Lake Trout Lakes in Minnesota
Found in 45 Minnesota lakes · 3 in Michigan
Lake Trout is a cold-water species, so the lakes where it is documented tend to be the deep, well-oxygenated basins that stay cold through the summer. 48 lakes carry a record. Lake Trout is narrowly distributed — only 45 lakes in Minnesota and 3 in Michigan have a documented record. The constraint is usually habitat: cold water, specific depth profile, or river connection.
Trout presence is itself a water-quality signal: a Minnesota lake that supports a Lake Trout population is almost certainly running cold enough and oxygenated enough to also support healthier overall water quality. Trout-supporting lakes almost always carry low nutrient and algae readings, because the cold, deep, well-oxygenated conditions trout need produce clear, low-phosphorus water almost as a side effect.
Lake Trout Lakes Map
Every Minnesota lake with documented lake trout.
Best Lake Trout Lakes in Minnesota
Catch per net is how many lake trout MPCA counted in each deep gill nets on that lake’s most recent survey.
Catch per net measures abundance in the survey, not size or fishing pressure.
| Rank | Lake | County | Lake Trout per gill net | Survey | Mean length | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Lake fishing | Cook | 5.75 | June 20, 2023 | 18.9 in | 1,145 |
| 2 | Strup Lake fishing | Lake | 5.44 | September 18, 2017 | 15.3 in | 1,689 |
| 3 | Loon Lake fishing | Cook | 2.43 | August 26, 2024 | 17.9 in | 1,095 |
| 4 | Bearskin Lake fishing | Cook | 2.17 | August 28, 2023 | 21 in | 509 |
| 5 | Mayhew Lake fishing | Cook | 2.00 | July 8, 2023 | 16 in | 221 |
| 6 | Caribou Lake fishing | Itasca | 1.67 | July 11, 2022 | 18.3 in | 247 |
| 7 | Little Trout Lake fishing | St. Louis | 0.62 | August 21, 2023 | - | 272 |
| 8 | Big Trout Lake fishing | Crow Wing | 0.58 | July 22, 2024 | - | 1,366 |
| 9 | Mukooda Lake fishing | St. Louis | 0.57 | August 22, 2022 | - | 774 |
| 10 | Little Saganaga Lake fishing | Cook | 0.53 | September 9, 2024 | 19.9 in | 1,627 |
| 11 | Birch Lake fishing | Cook | 0.33 | August 21, 2023 | - | 236 |
| 12 | Gilbert Pit Lake fishing | St. Louis | 0.33 | June 26, 2023 | - | 243 |
| 13 | Trout Lake fishing | Itasca | 0.20 | August 15, 2022 | - | 1,743 |
13 Minnesota lakes have a lake trout catch rate on record from the last ten years.
Cite this data: LakeQuality. “Best Lake Trout Lakes in Minnesota.” Data: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency fisheries surveys. Retrieved August 26, 2026. https://www.lakequality.org/fish/lake-trout/mn
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Minnesota lakes have lake trout?
Lake Trout are found in 45 lakes in Minnesota.
What are the best lake trout lakes in Minnesota?
The best lake trout lakes in Minnesota by water quality are Birch Lake, Trout Lake, Trout Lake, Big Trout Lake, Bluewater Lake.
Fish species from state agency survey, stocking, and public fishing-access records; water-quality readings from the EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys.